Samantha Who? (TV Series) (DVD)

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So much for going with a sure thing. ABC-TV had a hit with "Samantha Who?," and its star, Christina Applegate, seemed to be on top of the world after making the People magazine list of Most Beautiful and surviving a cancer scare. Then the popular series was cancelled, a victim of numbers. Following in the agile footsteps of "Dancing with the Stars," this sitcom about a coma patient who awakens to discover she doesn't remember who she was only managed to keep 6.75 million of the 10.76 million viewers who watched "Dancing." That number fell to 5.24 million near the end of the second season, and it was all the excuse ABC execs needed to pull the plug on the perky amnesiac.

That's too bad, because "Samantha Who?" is a funny show with a talented cast and a star who was clearly having fun with her role. It was ABC's answer to the popular "My Name is Earl" situation comedy. This young woman who wakes from an eight-day coma discovers that she has absolutely no recollection of who she is or how many people she's trod upon in her thirty-some years. Every day is a revelation, and what she discovers about herself isn't pretty. "I did that?" becomes a refrain that ends up driving Samantha to see her amnesia as a positive thing, a chance for a "do-over," like Earl. Only instead of a list of those she's wronged that she has to make good on, it's a gradual revealing of her past and the people from her past that gives her the chance to make amends . . . or not. Traces of the old Sam slip out, which raises the question, can a leopard really change its spots? Can the new Samantha be the good person inside that she would rather be?

Applegate ("Married, with Children") takes her acting to a whole new level as the title character, displaying a maturity and range that's just plain fun to watch. Her facial expressions, her body language, and the modulation of her voice provide nuances of character that I hadn't seen before. Applegate received an Emmy nomination for her role, which all but acknowledges that she's shed the broad comedic style she developed during the "Married with Children" years (1987-97) the way that Samantha seemed to leave her past behind. In a way, "Samantha Who?" is her second chance, and she makes the most of it.

A hit-and-run victim, Samantha snaps out of her coma to find her sarcastic mother, Regina (Jean Smart), hovering over her for the first time in years--though, of course, Samantha assumes they have a normal, loving relationship. Her wisecracking dad, Howard (Kevin Dunn), never gave her the attention she craved, but she doesn't know that either. She's surprised to learn that she had a live-in photographer boyfriend named Todd (Barry Watson), whom she cheated on with a married man (Timothy Olyphant as Winston Funk). Though she assumes they're going to live together still, it turns out that they're estranged now, because Sam led quite the life before that nasty whack on the head. She finds out that she was also having an off-again-on-again thing with a guy named Rene (William Abadie)--well, at least she's not bisexual.

Like the old cartoon that had poor confused Pluto influenced by a good angel whispering in one ear and a little devil trying to get his other ear, Samantha finds herself befriended by two women. One of them was her best friend from childhood whom Samantha jettisoned after Dena (Melissa McCarthy) gained weight and wasn't nearly as "cool." Though she hasn't seen her since then, Dena's wanting to reconnect, and she turns up at the hospital after hearing about Samantha's accident. Dena is a "good girl" who, of course, can only reconnect with her old friend if her old friend turns over a new leaf. Rasping away at her other ear is Andrea (Jennifer Esposito), a colleague from the real-estate firm she works at who loves to party as much as she does . . . did . . . might still. Andrea just wants her friend to snap out of it and get back to her old, trendy, lascivious self. What makes the show fascinating, apart from Applegate's winning performance and the "do-over" chance that she gets, is the whole underlying idea that drives this premise: nature versus nurture. Can a leopard change its spots? Anyone who's ever had friends try to influence them will identify with this show.

There are certainly elements to suggest that Samantha is a better person than she's been in the past, and it all starts with her instinctual treatment of "the help," as was the case with Goldie Hawn's character in "Overboard." At first doorman Frank (Tim Russ) is skeptical, but as an unlikely friendship develops from her suddenly civil treatment of him, viewers come to understand that Samantha has a darned good chance of becoming the kind of person she wants. "Samantha Who?" is a smartly written show, with writers Donald Todd ("Dave's World," "Ugly Betty") and newcomer Cecelia Ahern leading the way.

The second and final season of "Samantha Who?" contains 17 episodes on three discs that are housed in a single-width keep case--one on the front inside cover, and two overlapping on the back inside cover. Fans annoyed at the cancellation will also be miffed that descriptions of the episodes and bonus features are buried under the discs--printed on the back of the cover insert--especially when there are the usual promo materials tucked inside. The episodes are also out of order, with three of them ("The Rock Star," "Todd's Job," and "The Sister") inserted as "More Sam" bonus episodes, so a Play All function just won't work.